Scratchy Relationships
by msknowitall
Summary: Remus and Tonks meet when she's little.  She and him have little in common but enough to talk about, plus he says her name right.  Pre- Remus/Tonks  miniscule mention of Charlie


My usual start for a HP FanFic won't fit here because Louis isn't born yet.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own HP; I think it's cute though.

Scratchy Friendships

Remus walked down the hall of the Potter Manor. He didn't feel as at home as he thought he would, Sirius acted a little different when he was at home, like he was genuinely showing –as apposed to the mocking-like way he used at Hogwarts- them his respect. Remus was flipping through the Map he had found that the foot prints made him feel better like her wasn't alone.

He had scratches on his face, but this was the Potter's they didn't ask him about it, he was rather grateful.

He got up knowing today he hadn't anything to do, he had finished his homework- a great comparison to the other marauders- and was left with a gnawing boredom. He started down the stairs, Sirius wasn't awake yet and, if you knew Sirius, you knew not to wake him up.

James wasn't going to show his face today- if he did he would probably be dreaming and drooling- because he was doing something with Lily at some point and Peter always chickened out of these-type things. Remus found himself feeling alone by himself in the house.

He went to sit in a chair when he noticed a girl standing behind it. She looked 5 or 6 but her eyes told him she was younger than that. "Hello."

He looked down at her, being 17 he towered over her a bit. She stayed quiet looking up at him with curious eyes. He was wondering if he had scared her.

He sat down in the chair and she looked over his shoulder at the map. "What's your name?" He didn't bother hiding the map. She just watched as the footprints moved across the paper and back again where a few of the professors were pacing.

She looked up at him. "Tonks." She said it with a type of tone for finishing a conversation. Her voice sounded a bit older than her eyes too.

Remus nodded. "Funny name for a girl." She 'humph'ed but plopped down in the chair beside him.

She started swinging her feet. "Mummy's here to talk to other grown ups and to make sure that Sirius isn't being bad." Remus had wondered what the hushed voices from the other had been about. His eyebrow twitched at the words he could make out. "They wanted me in here; I didn't know you would be here too."

Remus smiled, it probably looked scary on his scratched up face, but the girl didn't seem to care. Her cheeks turned pinkish and her hair did too. Remus wasn't much used to this kind of a reaction but her didn't scream or get scared. He was a werewolf and his friends could turn into animals, not much could surprise him at this point. "What's your real name, Tonks?"

"That is my real name." She sat up defiantly crossing her arms across her chest.

Remus rolled his eyes and turned back to the Map. "Well, then, your first name." He gave her a glance from the corner of his eye.

She sat fidgety. He legs suddenly got smaller and her frame turned into one of a 4 year-old, but then she noticed and re-grew herself to her 6 year-old size. He noticed that she had scratches and small scars covering her almost as thoroughly as him.

She looked up at Remus as if to check if he had noticed. Of course, he had. She turned even darker pink and her hair turned a reddish-pink color. He gave a small laugh but then her hair turned blue and her lips became a frosty color to match.

"I liked it." He said with a grin. He had been happy to meet someone else with natural changing abilities, though hers weren't as painful. She looked back at him suddenly a look of disbelief crossing her features.

She turned pinkish again then pointed at the Map. "What's that?"

Remus held it up a bit further in acknowledgement. "This is a weapon that doesn't work like a wand or a gun. This tells you where everyone is when you're looking for them." Remus left out a few small details that she could learn for herself later in life.

She looked at it curiously again. "So can I see me in it?" Remus shook his head. "Why not?"

Remus closed it enough so she could see the words _Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_ across the front. She nodded silently again, looking deflated at her lack of seeing herself. "Are you going to tell me your name?"

Remus watched as she slowly twiddled her thumbs. "It's a stupid name."

Remus couldn't believe that. She seemed like a bright kid, even a smart one. She was pretty and her hair changed color for god's sake. "I doubt that."

She looked up at him searching him for some type of signal. "Nymphadora." She looked down again her hair regaining the color she had tried so hard for it to lose.

Remus nodded in a thinking way. "See, I told you it couldn't be stupid." He felt her eyes on him. After a quick glance he noticed they were adoring eyes. He felt a bit pleased with himself. "You're a very pretty girl."

She nodded silently, her adoring eyes never leaving him. "Why do you have scratches on your cheek? Did you fall on your face, too?"" In a flash she was kneeing in her chair leaning close to him to get a better look at his face. Remus wanted to back away but tried to cover the urge knowing that to trust one they must first trust you. He learned this from dogs and wolves, and half his friends could relate to that.

Remus licked his lips thinking of a good reason for his scratches. "I… I have trouble making friends." It was the truth and it did have to do with his scratches.

She backed away a little. "Me too. They always pick on me, but… I'll be your friend." She mock saluted. "What's your name?"

Remus smiled at her willingness of conversation. "Remus."

She nodded and looked as if she were repeating it in her head. She, then, returned her attention to him and smiled brilliantly.

Someone from the other room called for her. She immediately perked up in the same way that Sirius always did when called by his family. She immediately turned back into the façade-creature of a 6 year-old. "Look important and let no one tell you otherwise." She kept mumbling it to herself.

"See you, Nymphadora." Him saying her name seemed to counteract her under breath chanting and she swelled up a bit, her hair turning that beautiful shade of pink. "And, you look good in pink."

Remus: A Soon Later

Sirius came down a few minutes later with his hair in every direction and dark circles under his eyes. "Why are you such a morning person?" He practically growled at his friend.

"I'm not I just seem to make good friends in the morning." Remus started tracing the steps of a girl through the castle admiring her graceful steps.

Sirius thought for a moment. "You met me in Potions in the afternoon."

Remus looked up and smiled. "Exactly my point."

Nymphadora: Later

Tonks didn't like it when people called her 'Nymphadora' from that moment on. No one ever said it the way he had, like it was beautiful.

She was walking to 3rd year potions. She blew her pink-shortish hair out of her face in an irritated way. She was carrying her books trying hard not to imitate the bludger-head behind her. "Hey, Nymphadora."

She turned angrily. "Don't call me that!" Her hair flared red and her eyes probably had to. She smirked a little as she walked away, trying her very best not to get clumsy at the wrong time.

She left the red-haired Weasley kid in the hallway muttering to himself, "I just wanted to see if you wanted to sit beside me in DADA."

A.N. Long time coming, the LAST -Holy Crap where did the story go?- movie made me finish it. Pre-Remus/Tonks, but if you squint you can totally tell, not squinting you probably can too.


End file.
